Preventing Flooding

If you have suffered a flood you will know how distressing it can be. This section includes information on how to prevent flooding, and where you can get more advice.

Where can I get sandbags from?

Sand and sandbags can be purchased from your local builder's merchants, DIY store or garden centre.

The council holds a small supply of empty sandbags which can be collected from our Tavistock Offices or Okehampton Customer service centre. You will need to supply your own sand and there is a limit of 10 per household.

We do not supply sandbags to businesses.

Some town and parish councils also have a supply of sand and sandbags. These are listed below.

The Environment Agency have produced a guide on how to use sandbags effectively, which you can download here [390.03KB].

What do the council do to investigate and prevent floods?

Following a flooding incident where a number of properties and businesses are affected, the council will work with the Environment Agency and Devon County Council to investigate the cause of the flooding.

The Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for our area is Devon County Council. They will use this information to produce flood incident reports which feed into the flood risk management strategy.

For more information about the LLFA and their work, please visit their website.

How can I prevent flooding happening again?

If you have already experienced flooding, or you believe you may be at risk, there are steps you can take to protect your property.

The Association of British Insurers have produced a guide to Resistant and Resilient Repair after a flood, which you can download here [101KB].

The Know Your Flood Risk Campaign have also produced a document for homeowners, which describes a number of flood protection measures. You can download this document here [2.72MB].